WOW, PEOPLE ARE WAKING UP!
HERE IS A COPY OF MY EMAIL TO A WRITER OF AN ARTICLE THAT APPEARED IN LAST FRIDAYS MD. INDEPENDENT.
Greetings Jay!
After reading your story regarding CCSO terminating it's simulcasting on VHF and finally implementing full 800Mhz operations, I had to chuckle at Sheriff Davis comment regarding the:
"benefit to having citizens hear our radio transmissions because those who monitor their scanners sometimes provide us with information based on the transmissions they are listening to. We encourage this kind of information sharing and we hope it will continue."
His statement is correct, however, one of the Primary purposes for the Motorola Type II SmartZone APCO-25 system is the encryption capability. Law enforcement has always gritted it's teeth knowing that the public can legally intercept it's transmissions per Federal law. You will hear that the digital system is clearer, more reliable, able to penetrate within buildings, no more dead spots, can interface with Homeland Security Agencies and other Agencies, which in MOST cases is accurate. However, the real prize will be the eventual all encrypted communication. In your article you indicate with the new system police will be able to scramble (encrypt) their channels during certain events to prevent the public, as well as suspects, from "eavesdropping on their conversations". (NOTE: There is no such thing as eavesdropping for "in the clear" transmissions!) These events are drug enforcement, warrants and other "black box" undercover operations which have some merit. These events are currently communicated via cell phones that most officers carry, especially Victor units. CCSO will eventually go encrypted for all talkgroups in Zone 1 which includes D1, D2, D3E, D3W, STAC1,2,3,4, & SOTS1,2, plus COEMR1,2,3.
It is ironic that a vast majority of citizens whose tax dollars paid for the 800 system will not be able to afford the "compatible" APCO-25 receivers that are required to comply with the Sheriff's request for continued information sharing! Most APCO-25 Digital receivers cost between $400 to $600 for the LEAST expensive models. I noticed that fact was absent in your article. Moreover, the cost for Motorola's system was originally to have cost Charles County tax payers about $15 million dollars or so. I understand that it exceeded that amount by another $10 million. Even with Federal dollars from Homeland Security that's quite a bite for Charles County taxpayers! I don't think one cent of that money was given to the Citizen Public who will now have silence on CCSO frequencies in order to replace their radios! Many citizens used their radio for their own safety. When officers were searching for a criminal on foot, the pubic was aware of the description and the location and could take appropriate action. If there was a 10-37 suspect on foot or driving on the road and the citizen called in a sighting, the citizen could monitor the progress of the officer(s) in the apprehension. No longer. They must first purchase at least one or more APCO-25 Digital radios for their home or car to continue to be on high alert for suspicious activity. This is exactly what Officials knew would happen. There were too many citizens monitoring communications. Once 800 became fully implemented, the problem would be solved. The few citizens that would purchase an expensive radio would be tolerated until such time as full encryption took place. A more reasonable approach would be to have continued the simulcasting of CCSO channels 1,2 & 3. Such a process was done for many years and only recently suspended for fire tone alert frequency 46.42. So far, all 800MHz fire channels are, as of today, still being simulcast on 158.775, 155.085 & 158.865...why?
It is interesting to note the Maryland State Police still use the HF band in the range of 39 Mhz! They do have a capability on 155.73 Mhz and will have the capability to interface with other agencies on 800Mhz, but they have not chosen to equip all their units with the 800 system yet. Why? A simple review of the problems with 800Mhz technology experienced by other states will answer that question regardless of the hysterical objections to the contrary, especially those of the contractor. One also might want to look at the sale of the frequency spectrum from a well known cell service provider as another reason for the proliferation of 800 Public Service Radio systems! But that is another issue.
Jay, you have a very nice article there in the Maryland Independent. I think that there are going to be a lot of perplexed citizens when they find "dead air" on the CCSO channels. The same citizens may be rather infuriated when they find what it cost to replace their radios!
